Summary 

Exploring urban heat island solutions in Southeast Asia to inspire students in Boston to develop their own evidence-based strategies for mitigating UHIs in their city. 

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My fellowship took me to Singapore, Thailand (Phuket and Bangkok) to explore how equatorial cities address urban heat through innovative design and green infrastructure. In Singapore, I explored a residential complex atop a city-block–sized shopping center, where the rooftop had been transformed into a “mini jungle” with grasses, shrubs, trees, play areas, pools, and a tennis court. While this was just where my friend and host was living, it perfectly demonstrated how greenery can be seamlessly integrated into dense urban environments. I also visited Gardens by the Bay, with its climate-controlled domes, vertical greenery, and solar-powered systems demonstrating large-scale environmental solutions, and Clarke Quay, a historic riverside district transformed into a vibrant mix of public spaces, water features, and greenery, where UHI mitigation strategies have lowered the atmospheric temperature by about 5°C—showing how thoughtful urban design can make dense cities more livable while actively reducing heat. 

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In Phuket, Thailand, I participated in a guided tour of the Phi Phi Islands, snorkeled in coral reefs, and explored local food halls and markets, observing how public spaces contribute to both community engagement and environmental resilience. In Bangkok, I observed rooftop gardens operating in a different urban context, demonstrating how similar strategies provide green space, recreational areas, and cooling effects in densely populated neighborhoods. These experiences allowed me to see firsthand how different cities implement UHI mitigation and integrate green infrastructure into urban life. 

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Since returning, I have developed a full Unit 0 curriculum on Urban Heat Islands for my 9th-grade Environmental Science students. The unit culminates in a project where students act as advisors to Boston’s Mayor’s Office of the Environment, creating persuasive, evidence-based products that explain what UHIs are, why they matter, which Boston neighborhoods are most vulnerable, and what solutions the city could adopt. As part of the unit, I designed a lab where students investigate how different materials—both natural and synthetic—absorb and reflect heat. This lab contributes data to their final projects, allows them to practice lab safety, and provides hands-on experience linking scientific investigation to real-world environmental problem solving. By incorporating images, stories, and data, the curriculum encourages students to connect classroom learning to real-world issues, promoting critical thinking, problem-solving, and civic engagement. This fellowship allowed me to design a project-based learning experience that is both a short-term outcome—ready to use immediately in my classroom—and a long-term framework for introducing students to environmental science through authentic, hands-on learning. 

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Section 2

My fellowship profoundly expanded my knowledge, skills, and professional perspective. While I had to truncate my trip by several weeks due to a bout of food poisoning in Phuket, I was still able to explore key sites and experiences that made the trip invaluable for both my professional development and personal growth. Experiencing rooftop gardens firsthand in Singapore and Bangkok showed me how green infrastructure can transform urban landscapes, providing cooling, recreational spaces, and a sense of beauty and cohesion, even in densely populated areas. Visiting Gardens by the Bay highlighted large-scale innovations, including climate-controlled domes, vertical greenery, and solar-powered systems, while Clarke Quay demonstrated how UHI mitigation strategies can lower ambient temperatures by about 5°C (!) and make dense urban areas more livable. In Phuket, observing public spaces and local markets emphasized the role of community engagement in environmental resilience. These experiences gave me a deeper understanding of how urban design, climate, and governance shape environmental solutions, and they helped me think critically about how similar strategies could be adapted to Boston’s seasonal climate and urban context. 

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The fellowship strengthened my flexibility, observation, and curriculum design skills. Adjusting my plans due to the shortened trip reinforced my ability to be adaptable, think on the fly, and make the most of unexpected circumstances—skills I bring into my teaching practice every day. Experiencing these solutions firsthand allowed me to internalize the concepts, making it easier to translate them into tangible examples for students. My greatest accomplishment was developing the Unit 0 Environmental Science curriculum, including a PBL-style project where students collect data, analyze Boston neighborhoods, and propose evidence-based solutions for mitigating UHIs. The lab I designed on heat absorption and reflection of materials gives students hands-on experience and supports their final project recommendations, reinforcing both scientific skills and problem-solving strategies. 

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This experience also deepened my capacity to address environmental and equity issues in the classroom. Seeing global approaches to urban heat adaptation highlighted that environmental challenges are inseparable from questions of equity, helping me better understand the experiences of international students and other communities. As a result, I plan to teach with more real-world connections, stories, and visuals, and share this project as a template with the 9th-grade team to support our Green Exhibition program. The structure—identifying a problem, collecting data, and proposing solutions—can be reused across topics, promoting critical thinking, civic engagement, and collaboration, even when the content itself changes. 

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Finally, the fellowship shifted my professional perspective by highlighting the role of governance in environmental solutions. Singapore’s ability to implement widespread rooftop gardens and climate interventions demonstrates how centralized planning can make change more efficient, contrasting with the decentralized approach common in the U.S. This awareness helps me guide students to think critically about what solutions are realistic, scalable, and adaptable locally, while encouraging them to creatively apply lessons learned from global contexts to their own communities.